Door-releaser.



C. MILLER.

DOOR RELEASER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 15. I916.

Patented Jan. 1,191s.-

UNITED snares PATENTOFFIOE.

CHRISTIAN MILLER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T0 EDWARDS & (10., A CiORPO- RATION OF NEW YORK.

DOOR-RELEASER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 15, 1916. Serial No. 91,266.

To an whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, CHRISTIAN MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of New York, in the borough of Bronx and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door- Releasers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description- This invention relates to electrically releasable keepers. In apartment houses and other dwelling houses occupied by several families, it is desirable to provide a lock for a common front door which may be electrically released by any of the occupants of the buildin from their own apartment. To accomplis this, it has heretofore been proposed to provide a pivoted keeper which is adapted to engage a spring latch bolt which cannot be operated from the outside. The pivoted keeper is normally held against the latch bolt and is adapted to be released electrically so that the door may be opened without moving the latch bolt. It is the object of this invention to provide a keeper of this character which is of a simple and compact construction, positive in its operation and cheap to construct.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of the combinations and constructions which will be hereinafter set forth in the specification and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 shows, partially in section, a keeper constructed in accordance with the principles of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig.3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. l, and

Fig. 4 is a detail of the mount for the electromagnet.

As is the usual construction of devices of this character, a keeper plate 1 is provided which is inset into the edge of the door. This plate, instead of having the usual square hole or opening therein into which the latch bolt projects to look the door, is provided with a recess 2 open on one side, the open side being closed by a pivoted keeper 3 which is adapted to engage the latch bolt. A spring latch bOliLl, forming a part of the door lock (not shown) is adapted to be moved out of engagement with the keeper by turning the inside knob, but cannot be actuated by the outside knob, this type of lock being of the usual construction and forming no part of the invention.

The pivoted keeper 3 and associated parts are mounted in a rectangular. or box-like casing 6, which is secured to the plate 1, one side of which is open and is closed by a cover late 7 The casing 6 is preferably stamped rom an integral piece ofsheet metal, and projecting into'its interior is an L-shaped standard 8 having a base 8 mounted on the keeper plate adjacent one wall of the recess 2. The keeper 3 is pivotally mounted upon a pin 9 which is supported between one. end wall of the casing 6 and the standard 8, and is provided at its free end with a hookshaped portion 10, which is adapted to engage the latch bolt 4, the hook-shaped portion 10 closing the open side of the recess 2 and corresponding to the fourth wall of the square opening or aperture in the ordinary keeper through which the spring latch bolt projects. The keeper 3 is normally maintained with its hook 10 in engagement with.

the latch bolt by a spring 11 which surrounds the pin 9 and is disposed in a suitable recess in the keeper. One end of the spring bears against the casing and the other end against the keeper,'the keeper being held in its normal position by a pin 11 which engages the standard 8. It should be noted, however, that the hook-shaped portion 10 is offset from the pivotal point 9 so that if pressure is applied to the door and the latch bolt 1 this pressure will cause the pivoted keeper 3 to swing on its pivot against the tension of the spring 11, so that the hook 10 will be thrown or pressed out of the path of the latch bolt which will permit the door to open. 7

The pivoted keeper 3 is normally prevented from moving out of the path of the latch bolt by means of a pivoted detent 13 which is disposed with its axis at right angles to the pivotal axis of the pivoted keeper and is mounted upon a pivot pin 14. One end of the pin 14 is supported in the wall of the casing and the other upon a lug or ear 15 which is preferably formed inte gral with the casing. The detent 13 is nor: mally held against a stop 16 by a spring 17 Patented Jan. 1, 1918. I

longitudinally and transversely to form a,

cam surface 13. The normal point of engagement of the end of "the detent with the top surface of the pivoted keeper 3 is offset from the pivot pin 14:. By this construction,

when pressure is applied to the latch bolt to swing the pivoted keeper 3 inwardly, as

' shown in Fig. 3, this pressure will be communicated to the detent 13 which, due to its offset point of engagement with the keeper, will also swing upon its pivot if its other end is free.

However, in the normal position of the device, the free end of the pivoted detent is held against movement by abutting against an armature 19 which is pivoted as at 20, between the wall of the casing and an integral ear or lug 21. This armature is adapted to be moved on its pivotal point so that its end 22 which abuts against the detent 13 is lifted free of the detent by means of an electromagnet 23, which is also suitably mounted within the casing, as will be later described. The armature is prevented from sticking by means of a spring 24 secured to the under-face of the armature, which spring also serves to throw the armature back to the position shown in Fig. 1, that is, into the path of the free end of the detent 13 when the electromagnet '23 is deenergized. The electromagnet comprises two windings or coils 2 1 and 25, which are suitably supported upon iron cores 26 and 27, which are mounted upon a base plate 29, the plate and windings forming a unitary structure. The base plate 29 is slidably mounted upon the keeper plate 1 and is confined in place by guide-ways 30 which are formed by offsetting a portion of the base 8 and a bent-in endof the casing 6, whereby the electromagnet may he slipped in between the keeper plate and these guideways. The ends 31 of the guide-ways may be bent slightly, which will prevent the lateral displacement of the electromagnet and rigidly confine it in position.

Current is led to the windings 24c and 25 through wires 33 which pass upwardly through the casing and are secured to binding posts 3% mounted upon a block 35 which is fastened to the exterior face of one of the walls of the casing, the block 35 being of insulating material, as is the customary practice. The binding posts 34 are adapted to be connected in an electric circuit having a plurality of push buttons in multiple therewith one of which is disposed, as for example, in each apartment in the house, so that the electromagnet 23 may be energized to release the pivoted keeper from the different apartments without requiring the occupants to come down to the door and open it.

I claim:

1. In an electrically controlled keeper, a keeper plate, a pivotally mounted keeper, said keeper comprising a plate having a hook adapted to engage the latch-bolt, a spring normally urging said keeper to a position to enga e with the latch bolt, a detent pivoted intermediate its ends and having one end normally-bearing againstand angularly disposed to the face of said keeper with its point of engagement with the keeper offset from its pivotal point, a spring acting on said detent urging it into engagement with said keeper, an armature. engaging the other end of said detent preventing movement of said detent when pressure is applied to the keeper, and an electromagnet for moving said armature out of the path of said detent and permitting the same to turn when pressure is applied to the pivoted keeper to move it upon its pivot.

2. In an electrically controlled keeper, a keeper plate, a pivotally mounted keeper on said plate, said keeper comprising a member having a hook adapted to engage the latchv bolt and having a curved surface, a detent pivoted intermediate its ends and having one end curved and normally bearing; against the faceof said keeper with its point of engagementwith the keeper ofiset from its pivotal point, an armature engaging the 100 other end of said detent preventing movement of said detent when pressure is applied to the detent, and an electromagnet moving said armature out of the path of said detent and permitting the same to turn 105 when pressure is applied to the keeper to cause the curved surface on said keeper to bear against the curved surface on said detent.

3. In an electrically controlled keeper, a 110 keeper plate, a pivotally mounted keeper having a curved surface, a detent having a cam surface engaging the curved surface of said keeper and adapted to turn upon its pivot when pressure is applied to said 115 keeper, and electro-magnetic means forcontrolling the movementv of said detent.

1. In an electrically controlled keeper, a keeper plate, a sheet metal casing having the side wall thereof secured to said keeper 12o plate, said casing having a removable cover for its front face, said casing having a re-. cess out in the side wall secured to the keeper, the said edges of said recess being raised from said keeper plate, an electro- 125 magnet in said casing, a base plate upon which said magnet is mounted, said base plate being slidably mounted upon the keeper plate and confined in place between said keeper plate and the raised edges of 130 i,25i,esQ 3 said recess, an armature for said electromagnet pivotally mounted within said casing, a keeper pivotally mounted within said casing, and a detent pivotally mounted within said casing engaging said keeper and locked against movement when said electromagnet is denergized, said electro-magnet being freely removable from said casing independently of the other parts of the mechanlsm.

In witness whereof, I subscribe my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

CHRISTIAN MILLER. Witnesses:

WM. MEKIKOFF, HOWARD JACOBSEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

